


Only When You're Ready

by afteriwake



Series: nongentorum [11]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Conversations, Drinking, Drinking & Talking, F/M, Kissing, POV Steve Rogers, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Steve Feels, Steve Rogers Feels, Understanding Sharon, Waiting, goodbye for now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-07 21:13:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6824401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sharon pays Steve a visit in Wakanda to inform him about someone he might want to recruit, and they have a conversation they should have had much earlier about where they stand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only When You're Ready

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sideofrawr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sideofrawr/gifts).



> Okay, so I will admit that I haven't gotten to see all of the movie (unfortunately, I just can't afford it so I had to rely on a cam torrent that was crap), so this was written based off of what I got to see which, unfortunately, did _not_ include the kiss or much of the ending, so it's more based on what I've been able to find out of both bits on spoilers floating around Tumblr as well as on reactions from friends of mine who are both pro-Steve/Sharon and anti-Steve/Sharon. This particular fic was written for my friend **sideofrawr** , who had asked for a Steve/Sharon fic with the first sentence for this series and I know is a fan of kind of angsty stuff.

“I may have had a few shots.”

It had been a while, a long while, since he'd seen her. Almost three years now. Nine hundred days after...everything, give or take a few days. A lot had gone on between them, a lot that hadn’t been discussed, and he had taken the time in Wakanda to think, to process everything. But he should have known, sooner or later, that the world outside would intrude.

“King T’Challa does have very good spirits,” he said, watching her set down her glass and looking at it before moving to sit down next to her.

She was quiet for a moment. “There’s a new player in the picture. A Doctor Stephen Strange. He’s...different than the rest of you. Uses magic.” Steve nodded, not saying anything else. Sharon faltered for a moment and then continued on. “Tony hates him. Says he’s insufferable. I thought you might want to try and get him on your team. He could be a big help. There was an incident in New York...he did some good, but he’s not exactly fond of the government oversight and if he had the chance to get out from under them...”

Steve nodded again. “Thanks, Sharon,” he said, giving her a small smile. “I’ll reach out to him.”

She smiled in return. “All right.” She got up from her seat, leaving her glass on the table and heading to the door of the room they were in. “I’ll leave you in peace. I’m heading back to the States in the morning. Or elsewhere, I suppose.”

“You don’t have to go,” he said softly. She paused, her hand above the handle, and looked at her. She looked back, her gaze curious. “Have I ever told you my timing is awful?”

She moved her hand away from the handle. “No, not that I can remember,” she said.

“It always has been,” he said as she slowly made her way back to him. “Every time I’ve needed to tell someone something, or make the grand gesture, I’ve always been too late, or I’ve picked the worst possible time or the worst way. I’ve made a mess of things. I did that with us, didn’t I?”

“The whole situation was a mess, Steve,” she said. “Not that it wasn’t a bad kiss, I suppose, but...”

“But it could have been better timed?” he asked, looking up at her with a wry grin.

She shrugged. “Maybe.” She sat back down where she had been sitting. “You’re a complicated person, in some ways. You wear your heart on your sleeve but you also keep it tucked behind a huge wall covered in thorns and protected at the top with a foot of barbed wire. It depends on who it is that has your heart.” She hesitated a moment, then picked up the glass and poured herself another shot. “I know you loved my aunt. And I know you care a lot about your friend Bucky. I can’t compete with them. I shouldn’t even try.”

“I can care about you, too,” he said.

“I know you can,” she said, tilting the shot glass. “That’s why I said I _shouldn’t_ try. I might. Or...maybe not compete, but maybe try and find space in that highly protected battlement with them, I suppose.” She picked up the shot glass after a moment and drank it. “But only when you’re ready. And I mean _really_ ready. And I don’t think you are right now. Maybe when Bucky is all right you will be. Maybe when whatever’s going on between you and Tony is fixed, if it ever is. Maybe when you’re done grieving for Aunt Peggy. But I’ll wait. I’ll give you that.” She paused. “For a little while, at least.”

She stood up again and then moved closer to him, leaning over and kissing him softly. He could taste the liquor on her lips, lightly spiced, and after a moment, he kissed her back. It was a soft kiss, a promise of sorts. He _did_ care about Sharon, but she was right; he wasn’t ready, not quite yet. But he was more ready than before, and getting closer to that point each day, settling his scores with his past, looking at what his future held for him. He wasn’t sure the future was bright all the time, but this moment reminded him there _could_ be bright spots in it, if he wanted there to be.

After a moment she pulled away and then looked at him, giving him a small smile. He had to admit, he had once looked at her face, when he found out she was Peggy’s niece, wanting to see bits of Peggy in her, but now he looked at her and just saw Sharon, and he was glad for that. He wanted to see her for her, to care for her as herself, and maybe one day even care deeply for her, love her the way she deserved. When she pulled away he watched her walk towards the door, his heart just a bit less heavy, and then he turned his attention to the sunset out of the window. Tomorrow Sharon might be gone again, but it would also be the dawn of a new day, and then he would be one step closer to laying his past to rest and putting his future ahead of him.


End file.
